BLOOM FRESH Safeguards Its Intellectual Property: Benefits for Chinese Licensees and Consumers
February 8, 2024 | 2 min to read
BLOOM FRESH™ International Limited, the leading premium fruit-breeding company in Shanghai, China, is licensing its recognized table grape varieties like COTTON CANDY® and SWEET SAPPHIRE® to Chinese growers while legally targeting those who misuse its intellectual property. The company highlights that infringing fruits degrade market quality, mislead consumers, and harm licensed growers. With support from local authorities, BLOOM FRESH™ aims to create a healthy market for both its licensees and communities, fostering innovation and protecting breeder rights.
Shanghai, China – BLOOM FRESH™ International Limited (BLOOM FRESH™), the world’s largest premium fruit-breeding company specializing in table grapes, cherries, and raisins, is responsible for renowned table grape varieties such as COTTON CANDY®, SWEET SAPPHIRE® and SWEET GLOBE®. BLOOM FRESH™ will license its protected plant varieties to Chinese growers, providing ongoing support for their success. However, to protect its intellectual property, BLOOM FRESH™ is taking legal action against nurseries and growers who illegitimately use its proprietary varieties and trademarks.
Having successfully resolved enforcement cases in Yunnan, Jiangsu, Shaanxi, and Guangdong, BLOOM FRESH™ emphasizes the impact on both its rights and those of its Chinese licensees and consumers. Infringers create unfair competition for BLOOM FRESH™’s licensees, who pay for rights, while infringers illicitly gain advantages through stolen intellectual property.
Poor-quality infringing fruit negatively affects the market for high-quality, licensed fruit, as infringers do not receive authorized plant material or the benefit of BLOOM FRESH™’s technical support and quality assurance systems. Infringing fruit also deceives consumers, as the quality does not align with BLOOM FRESH™’s specifications for licensed fruit.
In China, BLOOM FRESH™ has secured plant variety rights for 16 table grape varietals and registered trademarks for best-sellers like COTTON CANDY®, SWEET SAPPHIRE®, and SWEET GLOBE®. Chinese Authorities, including the Local Agriculture and Rural Affairs Bureau and Administration for Market Regulation, support BLOOM FRESH™’s efforts in enforcing its intellectual property rights. BLOOM FRESH™ anticipates further cooperation with local authorities, communities, and licensees to protect its intellectual property.
“BLOOM FRESH™ aims to establish a win-win-win environment for itself, its licensees, and local communities. Creating such an environment relies on a healthy market that protects plant breeder rights and encourages the development of robust new varieties,” said BLOOM FRESH™ CEO Kenneth Avery. “Despite being a long and challenging process, BLOOM FRESH™ is committed to supporting the industry in fostering a positive and healthy intellectual property environment.”